Para rowers Katie O'Brien and Tiarnán O'Donnell did not advance to the A final of the PR2 mixed double sculls at Vaires-sur-Marnes.
The Irish pair, fourth in Friday's heat to send them into this morning’s repechage, knew only a top-two finish would suffice to seal a place in the showpiece at Paris 2024.
Hosts France and Ukraine claimed the coveted top two spots, with the Irish boat improving on yesterday’s time by more than 20 seconds to cross the line in 8:40.85.
They will return to the Nautical Stadium for tomorrow’s B final which takes place at 9.10am Irish time.
Unlike the thunder rainstorms which delayed yesterday’s heat, the venue was doused in sunshine, with the still water making for ideal conditions.
Once again the main stand was decked in green as Irish supporters travelled in significant numbers to cheer their team on.
Much to the delight of the home supporters, France made an explosive start, establishing an early clear water lead.
Ireland, on the outside lane, were in a battle with Ukraine and Netherlands. At the 500m point they were fourth, with less than two seconds separating the trio.
With the French pushing out their advantage, it turned into a real scrap for the second automatic spot, with just half a boat length between the three crews at halfway.
From there however the Ukrainian crew upped the stroke rate to pull clear, eventually pushing the French all the way to the line.
The Netherlands took third, with the Irish crew taking fourth in a time of 8:40.85.
Clarinbridge native O’Brien and UL graduate O’Donnell have endured a difficult lead-up to the Games, with a combination of injuries, surgery and illnesses for O'Brien ensuring the pair had only the guts of a month to work together to challenge the best in the world.
"What we take from today is that we're closer to the pack," she told RTÉ Sport. "We could see them. When we are in full racing mode there is potential to be there with them.
O'Donnell said while they were realistic in their ambitions, the plan was always to leave everything out there.
"Going into it, we said we'd have to go early and produce something magical," he said. "We knew if we were there or thereabouts at the 1km, we had to go and take a risk.
"We were with them at the 1km, and while we didn’t get the result we wanted, we both gave it absolutely everything. We’ll go to sleep tonight knowing that we gave it absolutely everything."
The lack of strength training was a telling factor in the final 500m, with Ukraine testing French mettle at the front and Netherlands easing clear of the Irish crew.
"That last 500m, that’s really where those big, long training sessions come into play, where you have that engine behind you," O'Brien says.
"Maybe I was missing that this year. I just don’t have that massive block of training behind me. It’s just so, so positive for us looking forward. With four weeks training, we can produce a result like that."
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